French Ye-Ye Songs

5 French Songs That Are Just As Sexy As "Zou Bisou Bisou"

The morning after the long-awaited premiere of Mad Men’s fifth season, water coolers across the country weren’t buzzing about Joan’s bust or Peggy’s disastrous bean ballet pitch. Instead, all the chatter centered around the obscure French song that the new Mrs. Draper (Jessica Pare) performed at her husband’s 40th birthday party. Almost immediately after the scene aired, live-bloggers, live-tweeters and live-Facebookers (is that even a thing yet?) clamored to find the song’s origin, and thanks to the magic of the internet, it didn’t take long. The song was quickly identified as “Zou Bisou Bisou,” a 1961 recording by Gillian Hill, one of many singers whose work made up the ye-ye genre, a popular style of music that took France by storm in the '60s.

Ye-ye, named after the “yeah yeahs” that were common in American rock music, is a genre characterized by gorgeous songs, gorgeously sung, by gorgeous women. Gorgeous French women, no less. And because “Zou Bisou Bisou” is already on its cyber deathbed (it’s like 100 years old in web years), we’ve decided to provide you with five more gorgeous songs, gorgeously sung, by gorgeous French women. Bon appetit!